Stock Analysis

With A 38% Price Drop For UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ:TIGR) You'll Still Get What You Pay For

NasdaqGS:TIGR
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Unfortunately for some shareholders, the UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ:TIGR) share price has dived 38% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. Looking at the bigger picture, even after this poor month the stock is up 42% in the last year.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, UP Fintech Holding's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 76.3x might still make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 17x and even P/E's below 9x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

UP Fintech Holding certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for UP Fintech Holding

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NasdaqGS:TIGR Price Based on Past Earnings November 1st 2021
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on UP Fintech Holding.

How Is UP Fintech Holding's Growth Trending?

UP Fintech Holding's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 457% last year. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 95% each year as estimated by the six analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 12% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why UP Fintech Holding is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

A significant share price dive has done very little to deflate UP Fintech Holding's very lofty P/E. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that UP Fintech Holding maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 4 warning signs for UP Fintech Holding that you need to be mindful of.

You might be able to find a better investment than UP Fintech Holding. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20x (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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